Holistic Health

How to Achieve your Fitness Goals

The following are three sure fire strategies for staying the course in your journey of optimal fitness. 1. Identify Your Personal Vision for Being Fit: So you’ve decided to commit to regular exercise. How come? Your answer to this question is a key to your success. If you were to get exactly what you wanted out of keeping your body moving on a regular basis, what might that be? A healthier body? More energy? Strength? Weight loss? Get really clear on what you are aiming for, and make sure it sounds and feels good to you. This will greatly increase your...

Body After Baby

So new mom, you have just welcomed your new bundle of joy into the world and now you want your body back. First, congratulations! Now, here are some tips for you to get on the road to getting your body after baby back. If you haven’t considered exercising, now is a great time to start. First of all, you will need your strength back to perform your duties as mom such as lifting, carrying and holding the little one. And don’t forget about carrying that stroller up and down the stairs and also, in and out of the car. Energy along...

Simple Tips for Staying Mindful

“Mindfulness” is blowing up as the new hot word among neo-spiritual, new age, western, hippy, yuppy, yogi, meditators. In spite of its trendiness, mindfulness is truly such a valuable practice. One who is mindful strives to be aware of the habitual nature of the mind. One who is mindful has the desire to deepen the understanding of ones own mind. The practices of mindfulness need to be embodied and remembered in all situations. Of course, we will rarely maintain perfect and consistent awareness through all the ups and downs but we can try. A saying that captures this point is “two steps forward and one...

How to Deal With Workplace Stress

According to the 2011 Buffett National Wellness Survey, the top health concern cited by employers with respect to the establishment of employee wellness programs was workplace stress. I recently had a conversation with a patient about stress. He lives a stressful life and has for a long time. His work is stressful, but he does it because he enjoys it. Because the stress has been affecting his health, the question is whether the job is worth it. Upon further discussion, I learned that he can do the same work pretty much anywhere. That’s one of the benefits of computers, cell phones, email,...

The One-Breath Meditation

We have all heard how meditation can be a useful way to calm the mind, reduce stress and gain energy, and yet the thought of trying may seem somehow daunting. The image of the yogi sitting peacefully for hours may just seem too far from our reality to consider meditation as a viable method to de-stress and centre oneself. Yet the fact of the matter is that probably every single one of us has at one time or another been in a meditative state when we are doing something that completely occupies us, whether it is painting, rock climbing, playing...

Mid-Life and Mood Swings

Unfortunately, temper tantrums and mood swings aren’t just for toddlers and 14-year-old girls anymore. If you are a lady lucky enough to be encountering perimenopause or menopause, these emotional rollercoasters may have become part of your daily life. But what can you do about them? For some women, it can be easy to let menopausal emotions wreak havoc on interpersonal relationships, while others try to fight any emotion tooth and nail. Read on for simple, natural tips for managing menopause and its wacky moods. Take Up Yoga Yoga is widely touted for its ability to center the mind and improve the body’s health....

5 Tips to Eat Healthy and Convenient

If you could choose just one culprit that could halt your eating healthy intentions, what would it be? If convenience is what you answered, you’re certainly not alone. So what's a busy person like you to do when you’re not only tired and starving but in between meetings, appointments, work or school (or all of the above?) Who could blame you for craving a chocolate chip cookie and a latte? The not-so-tricky trick is to make eating healthy more convenient than the stop at the coffee shop. Here are some simple tips to help you with your eating healthy choices, so that...

Organic Versus Local Food: Which is Best?

There’s always been debate around the nutritional value of organic food.  In recent months, some studies have come out suggesting that organic food is no better than that which is conventionally grown.  But there’s also plenty of information suggesting organic food is superior to conventional grown crops.  So who do we believe? What is the truth? When it comes to ‘organic’ I think it’s important that we remember what this term really means.  Although I am a huge supporter for organic food, organic does not mean the food will be higher in nutrients.  In order to be certified organic, the food...

What’s the Deal With Neural Therapy?

Neural therapy is a gentle healing technique that was originally developed in Germany over 100 years ago. It involves the injection of local anesthetics into autonomic ganglia, peripheral nerves, scars, glands, acupuncture points, trigger points and other tissues. Neural therapy is based on the scientific understanding that injury and illness results in long-lasting dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system controls and regulates most metabolic, immunological, healing, digestive, hormonal, and many other systemic functions. It controls such diverse issues as blood flow, pancreatic enzyme and insulin production, and metabolic activity of the liver. An irregularity in the nervous system...

The Healing Power of Conversation

Everybody has a story and it’s our stories that define who we are as people. Many of us may think our stories are not interesting or relevant enough to share with others, but this is a huge fallacy. Each person possesses within them a treasure trove of personal experience and stories rich in lessons I’m sure. Think about it. When someone passes away how do we remember them? We go back in time and tell stories of what life was like with them. It’s our stories--whether or good or bad--which in the end, gives our lives context and meaning. As a writer,...